Twitch.tv

In the face of growing competition, Twitch has upped its game to remain the face of streaming video game content. It makes it easy for pros and hobbyists to share their speed runs, walkthroughs, and demos with the masses.

Cons

Bottom Line

In the face of growing competition, Twitch has upped its game to remain the face of streaming video game content.
It makes it easy for pros and hobbyists to share their speed runs, walkthroughs, and demos with the masses.

28 Jan 2016Jeffrey L. Wilson

If a company like Amazon thinks a service is worth nearly a billion dollars, it's probably worth checking out. And if you want to check out real-time gameplay streams (whether it's eSports competitions or gameplay demos), Twitch should be your destination of choice. The streaming-video service is available on several platforms, including mobile (Android, iOS, Windows Phone), home video game consoles (PlayStation 4, Xbox One), and desktop (reviewed here). Twitch's ubiquity, ease of use, and high adoption rate make it an excellent service—despite a few relatively minor issues—for those who want to view or broadcast video game content.

Getting Started With Twitch The simply designed Twitch homepage puts video game content front and center. A featured video resides above the fold (you can switch to other highlighted videos by clicking their respective icons). Box art from a dozen of the most streamed games lives just south of that. In the past, certain popular games such as Dota 2, League of Legends, and Heroes of the Storm would unfortunately dominate the Featured Games section, creating an element of sameness to a section that should be about content discovery. And that's still true to an extent. But the service now does a better job of highlighting a wider variety of streams. You can also view a full list of all live shows (grouped by game) by clicking See All live Games in the bottom-right corner.

About the Author

For more than a decade, Jeffrey L. Wilson has penned gadget- and video game-related nerd-copy for a variety of publications, including 1UP, 2D-X, The Cask, Laptop, LifeStyler, Parenting, Sync, Wise Bread, and WWE. He now brings his knowledge and skillset to PCMag as Senior Analyst.

When he isn't staring at a monitor (or two) and churning out Web hosting, music, utilities, and video game copy, Jeffrey mentors, practices Jeet Kune Do, blogs, podcasts, and speaks at the occasional con. He also collects vinyl and greatly enjoys a craft brew.